Speedsters get the nod as cutbacks bite

ENGLAND have invested in two of the brightest young fast bowlers in the country, James Anderson and Steve Harmison, by awarding them the only summer contracts as the financial cut-backs from the Zimbabwe crisis begin to bite.

ENGLAND have invested in two of the brightest young fast bowlers in the country, James Anderson and Steve Harmison, by awarding them the only summer contracts as the financial cut-backs from the Zimbabwe crisis begin to bite.

From the moment England took the decision not to play their World Cup match at Harare in February on safety grounds, prompting future compensation claims and causing the International Cricket Council to withhold a &#xA3;2.2mshare of World Cup profits, the England and Wales Cricket Board warned of belt-tightening measures throughout the domestic game.

Those financial restraints were underlined yesterday with the announcement of only two summer contracts for Lancashire seamer Anderson and Durham fast bowler Harmison to join the nine players - Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Andy Caddick, Andy Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan - who were the first to receive 12-month contracts last September.

Both 20-year-old Anderson, England's leading wick-et-taker at the World Cup with 10 victims, and Harmison will now come under the control of England coach Duncan Fletcher, who will decide how much or how little they will feature for their respective counties

"The thinking behind the awarding of these central contracts was two-fold; firstly, to recognise the achievements of our young players in the international arena, and secondly, to enable Duncan Fletcher to manage the amount of cricket our players are involved in," explained David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors.

"Both James and Stephen have shown their potential during the winter and I'm sure will go on to have long and successful international careers. For both cricketing and financial reasons, the selectors have only made two additions to the nine players already contracted up to this autumn."

Despite Graveney's insistence that only two contracts were awarded for cricketing reasons, the selectors had the option of awarding anything up to 20 contracts, which would have been in line with other countries like South African and Australia, for the summer.

Kent batsman Robert Key, who demonstrated he had the temperament necessary to perform at the top level during last winter's Ashes tour, is one player who could possibly have benefited from a central contract while up-and-coming players like Warwickshire pair Ian Bell and Jim Troughton may also have been considered in less financially-stretched times.

What is in no doubt is the calibre of the two candidates selected for this summer's contracts with both players impressing during the winter campaigns.